Saturday, August 31, 2019

Benefits of Drinking Coffee and the Benefits of Green Tea Essay

Compare and contrast the benefits of drinking coffee with the benefits of green tea? It is nice to have a cup of hot drink in the morning, there are many options which to choose, such as coffee and green tea, two famous drinks in the world. They have different effects on body, and could prevent different kind of diseases, one similarity thing is both of them contain Caffeine. Coffee could effects on body, prevent diseases and contain vast caffeine. Your muscle strength will be stronger after you drink coffee because of caffeine, coffee couldn’t make you fatter, but if you put sugar into your coffee, it will make your stature fatter, and almost everyone put sugar in theirs coffee. According to Brian Fung (2012, July 3rd), â€Å"We are learned that coffee can protect your heart, reduce the risk of prostate and breast cancer, and curb the risk of fibrosis among those with fatty liver disease.† Drink coffee is not a preferred option before you go to bed, because of the caffeine, it could stronger refresh you, so it better to drink it in the morning. Green tea could make you body slim, prevent diseases and contain caffeine. An antioxidants called catechins was found in green tea, it could inhibits the cholesterol produce, decrease the cholesterol content could make you body healthy. According to Leslie Beck (2011, July 5th), â€Å"It’s a beverage that’s touted to boost metabolism, prevent cancer, ease arthritis pain, even fight dental cavities. Now, new study findings suggest there’s one more reason to drink green tea: It lowers blood cholesterol.† If somebody was drunk, green tea could help you get out of that bad condition because the caffeine that in green tea could boost metabolism. In conclusion, different people have different opinions, both coffee and tea is benefit for us. So what drinks is not important, the important thing is to understand yourself and find an appropriate drink. References Fung, Brian. (2012, July 3rd). The Case for Coffee: All the latest research to defend your caffeine addiction, in one place. The Atlantic . Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/07/the-case-for-coffee-all-the-latest-research-to-defend-your-caffeine-addiction-in-one-place/259404/#.UGODjDyjSBw.email Beck, Leslie. (2011, July 5th). Why green should be your cup of tea. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/why-green-should-be-your-cup-of-tea/article4210709/

Financing Climate Change for Economic Development (a Case Study of Nigeria)

FINANCING CLIMATE CHANGE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (A CASE STUDY OF NIGERIA) Written By: ABORISADE OLUWASOGO OLANREWAJU SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING BANKING AND FINANCE OSUN STATE UNIVERSITY OSOGBO, OKUKU SUPERVISED BY: MR OLANREWAJU FATOKI ABSTRACT Climate change adaptation is increasingly becoming an area of growing interest and involvement for many developing countries that unfortunately bear the brunt of an overheating planet caused by developed or so called advanced countries.The uncertain effects of a changing climate on Nigeria’s economy pose significant setbacks for meeting development targets like Nigeria’s aspiration to be among the twenty best performing economies of the world by the year 2020 [Vision 20:20:20] and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The fact that Africa’s most populous country runs dangerously on a mono-product economy oiled by cheap hydrocarbon deposits, underscores this heavy dependence on natural resources. Climate change-induced losses and the unsustainable use of these invaluable resources appear to be a harmful problem that has elevated itself to a real development challenge in Nigeria. It is not difficult to see that Nigeria’s climate security vulnerability lies predominantly along the coastal, littoral states of the south and the northern frontline states as a result of a combination of high physical exposure as well as low household and community resilience.Poor adaptive responses to growing shifts in temperature, rainfall, storms, and sea levels could help fuel violent conflict in some areas of the country due to shortages of resources such as land and water which breeds negative secondary impacts such as more sickness, hunger, and joblessness, which in turn flings the doors to conflict and social chaos wide open. These problems are further compounded by a lack of institutional, legislative and fiscal capacity for effective management of natural resources and stability of the ecosystem; leading to educed farm productivity, increased work load particularly on women, and a dislocated rural economy. Mitigation and adaptation are both necessary to alleviate the impacts of a changing global climate on our local communities and national economy. This research work therefore discuses climate change in Nigeria and ways it could be finance to increase economic development in Nigeria. INTRODUCTION Climate Change is a term used for changes in weather condition in the past few years said to be caused by Global Warming.Global Warming is increase in the average temperature of planet earth which is said to be caused by continuous emission of gases that trap heat to the earth's atmosphere. Climate Change and Global warming are often used interchangeably. In an upper part of the atmosphere called the troposphere 10-19km above sea level, certain gases trap heat to the earth to make it warm. Without these gases, the average temperature of the earth will be 33OC colder not able to support life for humans and several living things.These heat trapping gases for their action that resembles heat trapping effect to a glass house in Physics are called Green House Gases (GHG). There are a number of GHG known with some more potent and available than others, these GHG have a natural cycle that keep them balanced and available at certain range in the earth’s atmosphere for their function to keep the earth warm. Certain anthropogenic activities like burning of fossil fuels release gaseous products made up of one or more GH gas. Nigeria’s economy though heavily dependent on oil is sustained by agriculture and has thus become increasingly constrained.Both source of revenue for the economy is vulnerable to climate change crisis. Sustainable development of these sectors of the economy can only be achieved if processes in use are in favour and harmony with the environment. Although, Nigeria is not a major player in the green house gas emission comp ared to the western countries, the country has contributed to the depletion of the ozone layer through continuous gas flaring emission by multinational oil corporation in Niger Delta region. Climate change has become a global concern with harmful effects as seasonal cycles are hindered.For example, food production and water supply are adversely affected by the effects of climate change and if care is not taken, it will affect the economy in a drastic way. Nigeria and Climate Change Nigeria is exposed to the dangers of climate change, which is now a global issue. The dangers pose serious threats to existing environmental problems like desertification, erosion, flooding, and ecological devastation. Considering the strong connection between climate change and development, Nigeria is highly at risk in the area of food security, poverty reduction, energy and most importantly, infrastructure and general economic development.In view of this anyway, Nigeria’s efforts and actions must be informed by these realities. For example, it is estimated that in the Sudan-Sahel area of Nigeria, between 89,297 and 133,944 square kilometers of arable land would be at risk. It is estimated that the capital value at risk stands at about US$6. 4 billion for the current level of development, (NCCC, 2003). In December 2009, Nigeria like many other countries had the opportunity to tackle its climate change issues at Copenhagen, the capital and largest city in Denmark.However, climate change cannot be successfully addressed by any individual country it requires therefore substantial action and continuous efforts. These actions include nations’ investing in programmes and projects aimed at reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG’s), and contribute to adapting to climatic changes. Nigeria is committing itself to facing the challenges that climate change presents within its borders and is acting rapidly to ensure that the Copenhagen deal is the best for Nigeria and Africa.This is being achieved by continuing to form partnerships globally and regionally, and by promoting the development of alternative energy sources internally. Nigeria believes that climate change poses important threats to Africa, while equally offering some unique opportunities to generate new revenues and build more diverse and resilient economies. For example, a policy like the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) if designed to have an African focus could generate investments worth billions of US dollars every year. Causes of climate changeThe climatologists have found evidence to suggest that some factors are primarily responsible for most of the past episode of climate change on the earth and which needs to be addressed urgently. These factors include: (a. ) Radioactive forcing A process which alters the energy balances of the earth-atmosphere system is known as radioactive forcing mechanism (Shine et al, 2010). These may include degree of difference in the earthâ€℠¢s orbit around the sun, solar radiation, volcanic activity and atmospheric composition. (b. ) Non- radioactive forcingAny change in the climate must involve some form of energy redistribution within the global climate system. Yet there are forcing agents who do not affect directly the energy budget of the atmosphere (the balance between incoming solar radiation and outgoing terrestrial radiation). These are considered to be non- radioactive mechanism of global climate change. Such agents usually operate over vast time scales [107 to 109] and mainly include those which affect the climate through their influence over the geometry of the earth’s surface, such as location and size of mountain ranges and position of the ocean basins. (c. ) External forcingThis section discusses some of the various external forcing mechanisms operating over time a scale of 10 years to 109 years. (i. ) Galactic variations The orbit of the solar system about the centre of the galaxy has been conside red as a possible external climate forcing mechanism (Hugget, 1991). During the course of a galactic years [now estimates at 303million years] variation in the inter stellar medium (William, Isaac and Shoo, 1975) may also suggest that variation in gravitation torque induced by galaxy’s near neighbors, the small and large megellanic clouds, could have far reaching consequences for the earth’s climate. ii. ) Orogeny It is the name given to a tectonic process of mountain building and continental uplift. Such mechanisms operate over tens or even hundreds of millions of years. The earth’s outer surface, a layer known as the lithosphere {made up of the crust and the upper section of the mantle}, is broken up into 12 different plates which are constantly adjusting their positions relatively to each other and such movements are driven by the internal convective dynamics within the earth mantle.When plates collide, one may either be subdued beneath another or both are pu shed continually together, forcing upwards any continental land masses, to form long mountain range. (iii. ) Epeirogeny It is a term that describes changes in the global disposition of land masses and like organic process, this changes are driven by internal plate tectonic movements. Continents move around the globe at a rate of several centimeters per year owning to the slowness of the internal dynamics of the earth. However, over tens or hundreds of millions of years, both the size and position of land area can change appreciably. iv. ) Volcanic activity Explosive eruption can inject large quantities of dust and gaseous materials [such as sulphur dioxide] into the upper atmosphere [the stratosphere], where sulphur is rapidly converted into sulphuric acid aerosols. Whereas volcanic pollution of the lower atmosphere is removed within days by the effects of rainfall and gravity, stratospheric pollution may remain there for several years, gradually spreading to cover much of the globe . A volcanic activity has the ability to affect global climate on a longer time scale.Over periods of millions or even tens of millions of years, increased volcanic activity can emit enormous volumes of green house gases, with the potential of substantial global warming (Pickering ; Owen, 2004; Rampino ; Volk, 2006]. However, the global cooling effect of sulphur dioxide emissions will act to counter the green house warming and the resultant climate change remains uncertain. (v. ) Ocean circulation It was identified that the oceans store an immense amount of heat energy, and consequently play a crucial role in the regulation of the global climatic system.In order to explain the observed hemispheric syncronity of glaciations, despite periods of directly opposed orbital forcing in the two hemispheres, many researchers have looked to the oceans. Although, in this sense, changes in oceans circulation has traditionally been viewed as internal forcing mechanisms in its own right. Economic implications of Climate change The estimates of economic impact on climate change are typically based on ‘damage function’. The estimates cover a variety of climate impacts that are usually grouped as ‘market impact’ and ‘non-market impact’.Market impacts include effects on climate sensitive sectors such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries and tourism; damage to coastal areas from sea level rises; changes in energy expenditure (for heating and cooling) and changes in water resources. The non-market impacts cover the effects of climate change on health; leisure activities, ecosystem and human settlements. The economic implications of climate change in Nigeria are discussed below: (a. ) Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries McCarl (2007) reported that 70% of the workforce in Nigeria relies on rain-fed agriculture for their livelihood.He noted that agriculture is affected by climate change as a result of reduction in quantity and quality of yields; changes in crop practices through changes in water use (irrigation) and cost of agricultural inputs such as herbicides, insecticides and fertilizers; Environmental effects particularly due to frequency and intensity of soil damage leading to nitrogen leaching, soil erosion and reduction of crop diversity. Other effects are adaptation of organisms and plants to flood, salinity and temperature, collapse of flourishing profitable investment and a sharp downturn of national economy.According to Okali (2004), droughts usually increase in occurrence, having a huge impact, especially in the dry North as a result of desertification. (b. ) Tourism and Leisure activities The forest is the abode for wildlife. If the forests disappear, the wildlife goes with it. Sites of tourist attractions in Nigeria are vulnerable to climate change. The waterfalls, the lakes, the river basins, the ocean views, the beaches, the ranches etc. may be nowhere to be found. Due to this, the huge investment of both t he government and the private sector in tourism and leisure activities may be eroded.Loss of revenue and the lay-off of those employed in this sector of the economy will impose financial strain on the economy. (c. ) Coastal areas and Sea level rises Not less than seven out of the thirty-six states in Nigeria is in the coastal area. Nigeria’s coastal zone is richly blessed with various natural resources such as crude oil and fish, which are presently being exploited for economic gains. The global climate change and the concomitant sea level rises will have adverse effects on the coastal zone.Nigeria could lose over 18,000 square kilometers of the coastal land and the natural resources contained therein as well as experience disruption in socio-economic activities. This will also increase the salinity of the fresh water, thereby affecting aquatic life. Loss of revenue and GDP and the attendant impact of rendering the inhabitants of the coastal areas, who are pre-dominantly fish ermen, unemployed. (d. ) Human settlement Desert encroachment is becoming a threat from the northern part of Nigeria due to desertification.The inadequate trees in some parts of the North have resulted in unfavourable living condition and displacement of many human settlements. The rising sea level and gully erosion are equally claiming several kilometers in the coastal areas especially the southern part of the country. Valuable resources and infrastructures of the country are found in this area and if the sea claims these places, the economy of the nation will be affected. The Tsunami incidence in Japan on 12th March 2011, which claimed thousands of lives and properties worth billions of dollars, is a warning signal.It is also very important that Nigeria lend a clue from the bitter experience of Japan. (e. ) Health Increased temperature in the various regions could result in high incidence of malaria and other diseases that affect humans due to high temperature. The possibility of water-borne diseases as a result of the sea level rises cannot be ruled out. The implication of this is that there would be an increase in the cost of maintaining a healthy nation. It is note-worthy that this might frustrate the recent effort by government and relevant international health agencies to halt the scourge of malaria and other diseases. f) Industry and manufacturing The effect of global warming on the climate-vulnerable sectors of the economy (agriculture and the coastal resources) that provide input for the industry and manufacturing is another area of concern. The infant industries and the small and medium scale enterprises could be threatened. This is because only the big ones will be able to pay the high prices of manufacturing inputs. The GDP will be adversely affected by the inability of the small businesses to operate since they act as catalysts for economic growth and development. g) Financial services sector This sector serves as the intermediary between the def icit sector and the surplus sector of the economy. Owing to the ability of the big companies who are mostly quoted on the stock exchange to weather the storm of the likely downturn, they will force the market into an initial boom, which may not last, only to be followed, subsequent to its effect on the climate sensitive sectors, by a devastating and catastrophic burst because no entity or segment of the economy would be left out.Hence, there is the tendency of experiencing what could be best described as ‘climate induced inflation’. Odjugbo (2010) noted that climate has a significant effect on the country’s economy. Climate Change Financing Providing financial support to developing countries like Nigeria to help mitigate the effects of climate change and adapt to its impacts will be crucial to achieving agreement at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Copenhagen in December 2009. This makes financing one of the most critical issu es in international climate change negotiations.The major issues that need funding in order to address climate change properly are observed to include mitigation, adaptation, technology transfer and capacity building of institutions and personnel. Funding must benefit from domestic and international sources. The major sources of domestic resources to finance development in Nigeria have been domestic savings which are channeled into development through various formal and informal avenues, taxation, domestic borrowing (including borrowing from the banking system and private sector), bond financing, external reserves, surpluses of public enterprises, and very importantly, the oil sector.Domestic resources should ideally constitute the major source of financing development and should be the first port of call. It is a better long term option in the achievement of any longer term development goals. On the other hand, external resources should be seen as providing supplementary finance to domestic resources. External finance has proved difficult to predict and sustain. Indeed, some forms of external finance, for example, ODA, portfolio investment and bank lending that may appear to be important have tended to be highly volatile and hence potentially risky and problematic for development.Also, there has been skepticism about aid effectiveness such that ‘despite the declared huge disbursement by donors, there is not much on the ground to show for it’ (NPC, 2008). If domestic resources must provide a robust basis for sustainable progress in meeting the climate change challenges, then policies need to be implemented which would increase domestic saving and raise the revenue (tax and nontax) GDP ratio significantly beyond current levels. As at June 30 2009 there remain few well known sources of domestic financing for climate change adaptation/mitigation, renewable/green energy projects in Nigeria.Whilst we suspect that there are some in-house sources of fina nce being discussed within various institutions, these are not yet publicly known and are at their primary stage of development where they do exist. With respect to mitigation, a lot of resources are needed particularly in acquiring technology. Nigeria supports the initiative for the establishment of a Multilateral Technology Acquisition Fund to buy Intellectual property Rights (IPR) which is a major constraint to technology transfer.Most of the resources for mitigation have moved to the developed countries over the years. Nigeria supports therefore the review of this anomaly for equitable distribution. Mitigation resources should also come to developing countries so that their developmental efforts do not finally result in injecting more GHG into the atmosphere. Nigeria should team up with other African countries and the G77 to seek for greater access to Adaptation Funds. Many of the potential adaptation projects which are urgent require considerable capital investment that the Fun d can best provide.The significance of this is that this source of funding is reliable and predictable. Demand notices requiring for settling of counterpart Funds should be sent early enough to facilitate the processing of payment. Nigeria should team up with other countries to ask for the change in the present arrangement in which developed countries alone produce the CEOs of the GEF. In the future, the position should be alternately occupied by candidates from the developed and developing countries to reflect the global character of this institution.Constraints to financing climate change in Nigeria Some of the expected major sources of financing climate change in Nigeria encounter a lot of challenges/constraints. Some of these are as follows: – * The precarious dependence of government revenue on the oil sector. Thus, any shortfalls in oil revenue will adversely affect climate change mitigation/adaptation. Projected government financing of climate change may partly depend on economic growth performance and may not be realized if the growth performance is weak. The need to lay a solid foundation for sustainable growth, rely more on domestic sources of financing especially noninflationary sources, and diversify the revenue base away from oil to non oil tax sources. In addition to the above, the following issues have been identified as current constraints that are hampering progress in efforts to tackle climate change activities in the country: * Lack of a regulatory framework that should guide any institutional governance and the activities of climate change have discouraged local lending to renewable energy projects, foreign direct investment (FDI), and significant take-off of the CDM market. The lack of an established and working climate change institution has encumbered the drawing up of a broad-based and robust regulatory framework that can, with the assistance of consultants and advisers in this area, ensure world-class practices being put in plac e in Nigeria as part of the structure. * Absence of definite budgets within the various government ministries, departments, and agencies to incorporate climate change activities in national development within the broader Nigerian society. Lack of moral persuasion by the federal government on private enterprise to focus on driving climate change mitigation strategies and business development. * Lack of general educational campaign to advise financial institutions, corporate bodies and civil society on the merits of investing in Green Energy and the CDM market has greatly hampered the take off of all related projects. Lack of knowledge by financial institutions on investment within the new ‘green’ economy in all its ramifications due to lack of capacity build-up in this area. * Lack of knowledge among most local financial institutions on how to advise clients to access CDM funds for their projects which leads to less revenue being generated from carbon sequestration proje cts. CONCLUSIONNigeria cannot afford to be left outing the fringes of achieving environmental sustainability, alleviating poverty and reducing extreme hunger in line with the millennium development goals. The Government of Nigeria must as a matter of expediency treat the problems associated with climate change on the economy with urgency by adhering to international environmental treaties and embarking on massive and aggressive sensitization of the citizens on the problems associated with global warming and the steps that can be taken to address the concern.The government needs to sensitize Nigerians on the need to be more environmental friendly, evolve a change in consumer behaviour and ensure effective utilization of financial resources to mitigate the effects of climate change. REFERENCE Odjugo, P. A. O. (2010). Regional evidence of climate change in Nigeria. Journal of Geography and Regional Planning, 3(6), pp. 142-150 United Nations Organization. (2010). Climate Change Conferen ce in Cancun leads to agreements Sass.R. L. , (2009), Frequently Asked Questions: Climate Change, James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, Rice University United States Central Intelligence Agency World Fact Book (2011), https://www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ni. html United States Climate Science Program (2008), Trends in Emissions of Ozone Depleting Substances, Ozone Layer Recovery and Implications for Ultra Violet Radiation Exposure Synthesis and Assessment Product 2. 4

Friday, August 30, 2019

The Reflective Manager

The Reflective Manager Abstract Reflection and the effect of its application in relation to organization learning have attracted a growing attention. It is recognized that reflection is the vital content for either individuals or organizations learning process. It is believed that reflection is a very important component to accomplish successful working behavior. Moreover, reflection is the crucial practice in the process of exploiting learning organizations. In this report, the concepts of reflection and critical reflection will be discussed and the reflection in practice within organizations will be investigated as well.In addition, the emphasis of the article is the application of reflection and reflection practice on organizations. The objective of the report is to evaluate the application of reflection theory and to research what is the impact of practicing reflection on organizations. Keywords: Reflection, critical reflection, organization learning, working behavior, reflection practice Introduction More and more people nowadays pay their interest in the application reflection and critical reflection in an organization.The concepts of reflection and critical reflection are not specific but there are no common and recognized definition for reflection and critically reflection. Based on the purpose of investigation how reflection and practice reflection affect and enhance organizational activities and performance, reflection many general defined as the learning theories involve a review of one’s experience and an analysis of thinking and action while the description of critical reflection in accordance with recognizing one’s self objective and interests and learning about assumptions, background and performance enhanced oriented actions.As early as in 1983, Schon firstly brought the concept of reflection into the professional area and gave the definition of reflective practice said the application of knowledge to practice with the consideratio n of self-experiences. Reflection acts the most important role in converting one’s experience into knowledge according to Kolb’s research on experiential learning (Kolb, 1984). Reynolds pointed out in 1998 that form that time on, reflection was deemed to be the essential part in the process individual and organization learning, particularly when with reference to learning as exploitation rather than deriving information.The difference between information and knowledge is that knowledge is integrated information with experience, judgment and skills. Reflection persistently turns out as a recommended method of assisting individuals and organizations know better about what they do and understand in practice of the knowledge that learned from practice (Loughran, 2002). Reflective practice is a vital element of lots of occupations courses while the critical reflection currently becomes a pivotal component of lots of graduate managerial degrees (Swan, Bailey, 2004).Cunliffe stated that managers can exploit more cooperative, reliable moral approaches of management by more critically considering about their conception and action or in another words more critically reflection. It is believed that critical reflection is focused on more interest. The beginning of theory of critical reflection is developed by Jurgen in 1972. In 1999, Brooks stated that critical reflection benefits in enhancing work practices, assessing organizational objectives and policies. He pointed that the basic ability of critical reflection is to critically ask questions.The measurement of whether critical reflection benefit to working practice is a practical approach of evaluating the contribution of critical reflection. A means raised by Argyris and Schon that called double-loop learning offers such evaluation. It can be concluded by questioning critically, sating an opinion and requesting feedback from one’s audience, trying with new working approaches and action and taking new viewpoints. The contemporary collaborative has existed as the crucial way of working relations and acted as the major role in establishing society institution.The corporation between companies has reduced the influence of state, family residential and moral community in order to accomplish a dominant position. The growing influence of Commercial Corporation has restrained the conflicts among different institutional requirement. The practice of commercial corporation suffuse current life by offering individual identity, organizing experience and time, impacting knowledge creation and education and supervising news creation and recreation.Some authors argue that the influence of management on people’s lives and the impact in forming ethic, economic and environmental restrictions is generally too significant for their actions to be directed by a limited, helpful shape of justifiability (Alvesson and Willmott, 1992). Critical refection insists on facing the hided interests an d ideologies and on exploring objectives of questions that contribute to message management thinking and activities.Critical reflection objects to the kinds of conceptions that cultivate the logical necessary of authoritarianism in organizations, the unchallenged value added to gain of economic and the conservation of unfair in treasure and right. Critical reflection challenges compliance to the concepts like unavoidable cost of improvement, general knowledge or reality argued by Collins in 1991. Education originations and individuals that deliberately retain ethically pauperized courses for managers as meriting of defiance and acting in contravention of ones’ self-interests should be criticized and noticed (Reed, Anthony, 1992).Reed and Antony insist that managerial teachers and organizations should encourage mangers to foster the awareness of difficulties that they encountered so as to help them be conscious of self-significance and self-responsibility. Mangers have to be s timulated to consider the uncontrollable sophistication that confronts them without colorable help of skills and objectives. The objective of reflection concerns with the investigation of impact of political and civilizational processes on development and learning being integrated into any kind of managerial education, particularly when authority and franchise are not distributed fairly.Since some people are continuously confront with contempt because of their gender, age and religion while policies of developing and practice are depended on some mechanical measurement, critical reflection should be applied in order to provide wise structure for tough these processes. Critical reflection offers the flexibility based on a more living analysis method. It is apprehensive if managerial education does not involve critical reflection. Reflective practices In order to investigate the impact of reflection on the connection between organization and learning various levels of reflective pract ice will be presented.The connection between practice and reflection has been discovered. There were lots of existing trials to connect various kinds of reflection to organization learning. Mezirow described a detailed scheme that classifies seven levels of reflection. For instance, the first level is reflection form daily experience of one’s awareness of seeing, thinking and action while the last level is critical reflection form consciousness. Jarvis stated that the concept of Mozirow is restricted to the interpretation of individual, numinous conversion but not social transform although it is useful.Other authors stressed that the aim of reflection practice ought to have social activities although it is an in mind process (Kemmis 1985). Kemmis described reflection with three levels, the technical reflection, the practical reflection and finally the critical reflection. For the first level, the technical reflection is problem solving oriented with the process of selecting a vailable approaches to accomplish certain result. For the second level, the practical reflection relates choose the correct and appropriate result. While for the third level, the critical reflection concerns the content of historical thought.It is said that the critical reflection offers the fundamental of a justice society. Similarly, Hindmarsh illustrated three levels of reflection to survey the graduates in transferring from students to occupation employment. Furthermore, to understand the previous reflection practice levels, take the technical reflection, the principle of this level is unquestioned. For instance, students may be required to finishing a specific studying styles questionnaire or the favorite list of the teaching group so as to develop lessons based on personal learning style.While for the practical reflection level, there is still no questioning at this level. For instance, a specific form of learning style may be selected for reason that its fundamental learning principle is sustaining of an organization atmosphere that the course is meant to improve. Finally, at the level of critical reflection, underlying conceptions that become the basis of learning style are suspected form an academic or ethical viewpoint. For instance, this kind of learning style may be selected from a way of comprehending distinction in learning methods and an option made based on more related to supportive research.Alternatively, both of these should be rejected for the consideration of its invalidation to interpret the impact on leaning method of age, gender or class and its original dependence on classing, enhances a possibly discriminatory method of being employing with personal difference. Take group work as an example of reflection practice, it was usually applied in managerial development to enhance combination and intimacy by concentrating basically on personal and interpersonal action, inspiring self-shown and an analysis of individual experience without any gregarious or civilizational interpretation.However, a more critical way can be used by offering a contextualized concentration and designing expositive structures which capacitate a gregarious and moral analysis. All of these examples have elucidated the three levels of reflection. Moreover, Russ and Vince described another three levels of reflection practice. The first level is the individual in an organization, the objective of reflection at this level is to discover and conclude the role than a person act and the organization that manage the presentation of the role.The concentrate on role provides chances for managers to understand the methods their jurisdiction is built and limited in an organization. A role offers the structure that person and organization satisfy. Although the transformation of self-experience declares the peculiarity of the individual, planting personal experience in the role stresses the relationship to the organization. It is not possible that reflection on one’s personal experience will create progress and learning itself.However, it is possible to remind conceptions or power connections into problem at the time when reflection is pursued based on relating person, one’s role and organization in one’s mind (Shapiro, Carr, 1991). The second level is team or sub system, the objective of reflection is to discover and absorb connections between the edges of other and self, and between the edges of branches. The concentrate is on the clannish procedure of belonging, describing, striving for democracy, and the straits concerned with traveling across the edges of various organizations.This provides chances for managers to get experience from the creation of governmental activity with mutual commitment or separation, via corporation and competition, and through organization meshwork or nations. This level of reflection is on sub systems which are usually operated within the branch. Within the entire organization, reflec tions of inter groups of sub systems are more collective which usually break the communication among different components. The third level of reflection is the entire organization, the objective of this reflection is to discover and absorb connections across inside and outside construction.It is in relation to the organizational action produced via personal and mutual authority and flectional experiences. The concentrate is on the process of systematism that the road to create an organization. The reflection at this level is to provide chances for managers to investigate aware and unaware flectional and governmental procedure that draw the organization characteristics. Reflection practice research on a company A company with an expectation of high economic growth and development in generally not likely to encounter commerce failure which produce seldom pressure on mangers.The organization seems not to be confronted with failure and risk and therefore managers are in an environment w ithout risk awareness. Nowadays organizations unawares help to silent or unconfident managers that are afraid of failure and risk hence segregate themselves in a self-empire. In order to deal with such organizational issues, the company has raised an idea of organization learning and learning organization. For example, the staff of the company can profit from training and learning during working.This kind of learning is covered to the entire company and that has affected on its working teams. It leads to the company an improvement in workers attitude and practice as well which indicates the organization is learning. While on account of personal learning all over the company, the influence on the company itself is therefore organization learning. For the company the organizing learning process is hard rather than personal learning. The process is designed started with the creation of the initiative of ‘rebuilt the company’ and hence inspires lots of staff’s enthus iasm.However, new entry employees met the barriers from the power relations like some senior managers which brought some disappointment that resulted in the failure implement of the initiative. Then the company raised a democratic reflection process objected to change the situation, which removed the rooted authority relationships that define the organization. The difficulties the company encountered in learning and change results from managers’ personal cognition of reflection, and the comprehensive organizational dynamic via which these cognitions are produced and enhanced.The personal viewpoints of managers about reflection relates in reality contains keeping away from what is occurring, reconsidering about what was finished and investigating individual thought. The point of reflection is on assessing something from past but not within the present. To conclude, the reflection practice within the company is supposed to be an individual responsibility. It can be described as the work of managers, whether the manager is free so as to consider about the problem or issue and which way the manager sued to deal with the problem.Although these individual reflections from managers can create growth and change for the company, it is the organization success form individual. One failure aspect for the company is that it is lack of the ability to produce a process of organization reflection which will raise the progress from individual to organizational. The limitation of the learning ability for the company should be broken by developing the ability of reflection to an organization level. ConclusionsThis report has an overview of how the application reflection and reflections practice are encouraged and benefit to the organizations for learning, change and critical. In general, the main conclusion is that reflection and reflection practice are the essential components of individual learning and organizational learning and are aspects of competitively advantages . In this report, the concept of reflection has been discussed on the basis of some literature review, and the distinction between reflection and critical reflection has been compared as well.In the section of reflection practice, the report has presented some different description about the levels of reflection practice. In spite of these arguments, reflection practice may be classified from individual oriented to organizational reflection. Reflection is action in mind with the objective of investigating one’s action in a certain situation. It is said that within organization, good staffs are those who are critical reflective. However, with the examination on individual reflection and organization reflection, it shows that there is a difference between them.According to the example given in the previous paragraph, the company relied on individual ability of reflection can be shifted to be depended on the organizational ability of reflection so as to enhance the ability of le arning and changing for the organization. In a word, reflection can benefit to either individual learning or organizing learning but organizations should make more effort to shift the reflection levels so as to get competence and advantage in the global commerce environment. References 1. Argyris, C. and Scho? n, D. A. (1996), Organizational Learning II.Theory, Method, and Practice, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, New York, NY. 2. Alvesson, M,, & Willmott, H, (1996), Making sense of management: A critical introduction. London: Sage, 3. Cunliffe, A, L, (2004), On becoming a critically reflexive practitioner. Journal of Management Education, 28(4), 407-426, 4. Feminisms and Critical Pedagogy. New York: Routledge. McClaren, P. L. (1987) `Education as Counter Discourse: Towards a Critical Pedagogy of Hope', The Review of Education 13 (1): 58-68. 5. Hoyrup, S. (2004). Reflection as a core process in organisational learning.The Journal of Workplace Learning, 16 (8) pp. 442-454. 6. Kemm is, S. (1985). Action research and the politics of reflection. In D. Boud, R. Keogh, ; D. Walker (Eds. ), Reflection: Turning experience into leaming (pp. 139-163). London: Kogan Page. 7. Kolb, D. A. (1984) Experiential Learning. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Kosmidou, C. and Usher, R. (1992) `Experiential Learning and the Autonomous Subject', in D. Wildermeersch and T. Jansen (eds) Adult Education, Experiential Learning and Social Change. Amsterdam: VUGA/Uitgeverij BV. 8.Loughran, J. J. (2002). Effective reflective practice: In search of meaning in leaming about teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 53, 33-43. 9. Mezirow, J. (1981) ‘A Critical Theory of Adult Learning and Education', Adult Education 32: 3-24. 10. Steen, H (2004) The Journal of Workplace Learning Vol. 16 No. 8, 2004 pp. 442-454 ‘Reflection as a core process in organisational learning’. 11. Woerkom, M. , Nijhof, W. , & Nieuwenhuis, L. (2002). Critical reflective behaviour: a survey researc h. Journal of European Industrial Training 26 (8) pp. 375-383.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Position paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Position paper - Essay Example According to the Royal College of Nursing (Great Britain) and National Collaborating Centre for Nursing and Supportive Care (Great Britain) (2006), the venues with the highest probability of violence in hospitals include the emergency departments, facilities of psychiatry, home offices, private outpatient offices, forensic settings, mental health community, outpatients clinics, and general hospitals. Patients’ violence to the nurses takes many forms. According to Conroy and Murrie, (2007), they include physical harassment, threats, stalking, frivolous lawsuits, scurrilous and false accusations, complaints to licensure medical boards, vandalism, excessive or abusive letters and phone calls, obscene or threatening mails, loitering, trespassing, home visits and drive-by, and display of knowing of the personal life of the nurse. Many cases are being reported on violent crimes such as rape, assaults and homicides, especially in the emergency departments and the psychiatry facilitie s with nurses as the main targets (Tardiff, 1999). Statistical research Patients’ violence against nurses has been a thorny issue in the health sector. Eichelman and Hartwig (1995) give an overview of the issue when they document the survey done by the American Nurses Association. From the survey, the numbers of registered nurses who have reported cases of assault by the patients were 34%. This represented a rise in assault from 25 % in the year 2001. Results that are more shocking indicate that from the government statistics, eight nurses were reported killed in the work place from the year 2003 to the year 2009. In addition to that, 2050 more incidences were reported by the nurses and involved violent assault and harassment (Eichelman & Hartwig, 1995). Similarly, the report of Bureau of Labor Statistics of 2006 indicates that 60% of the assaults in work place took place in the healthcare, and most of them were because of the patient’s violence towards nurses (Crichto n, 1995). Moreover, the healthcare support occupations had a 20.4% injury rate due to assaults while healthcare practitioners had a 6.1% rate. These are just the results from the reported cases, and this figure could be larger if underreporting from the nurses, probably due to the perception that assaults forms part of work in the nursing profession, could be minimized (Babich, 1981). My argument from these statistics is that nurses and healthcare practitioners in the health profession face an acute problem which is underrated but affects their performance in their bid to deliver services to the patients. Richter and Whittington (2006) further validate the issue of the patient violence when they point out that nurses in the hospital emergency departments experience the highest rate of physical assault. Furthermore, Richter and Whittington (2006) observe that 28% of nurses working in the emergency departments reported that they have been victims of physical assault for the past one y ear. Violence in Emergency Departments In the hospital set up, patient violence to the nurses is a great issue that needs to be discussed soberly. Eichelman and Hartwig (1995) point out that the studies conducted by many bodies indicate that the nurses and other healthcare professional assigned in the emergency departments experience the highest level of violence from patients. This is because evaluation and treatment of the violent high-risk patients are initially

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Cultural Event Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 17

Cultural Event Report - Essay Example But to witness the extravaganza the spectacle of the fairy tale complimented by a truly scintillating music was a pleasure to eyes that reached out its wings directly to the heart and enabling the soul drenched with fatigue to rejuvenate and relinquish upon the musical extravaganza at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Witnessing Shrek on silver screen was a joy forever. But watching Richard Blackwood on stage with the musical spectacular portrayed at the Theatre Royal Drury lane was a lifetime experience indeed. The show runs at 3pm on Thursdays, Saturdays as well as Sundays and again on 7:30 pm on Mondays to Saturdays. On Wednesdays there is an exception and the show initiates on that day at 7pm. I had chosen the time slot of 3pm on Sunday, 19th of August 2012. Being a holiday the theatre was almost full and there were more than 150 men and women along with much number of enthusiast children watching the show which itself was giving a different color to the set up colorful ambience of the theatre. This show is running from 6th May, 2011 and shall run till October 21st 2012. The musical is directed by Jason Moore and Rob Ashford and produced by DreamWorks Theatrical, Neal Street Production. The musical is written by David Lindsay-Abaire. The moment one steps inside the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, one can witness the charm and magic the show bequest upon its spectators. The children were all excited and some were putting the masks of Shrek and his loyal donkey which they grabbed from outside the theatre (London & Partners, 2012). All the characters of the real film appeared on stage with accuracy and grace complimented by all fresh musical scores, songs and peppy dance which excels all fairy-tales on stage was a real treat to the eyes. Especially the Shrek Anthem, ‘I’m a Believer’ is perfectly posited in the musical enhancing its effect and weight. The musical comedy filled with the adventure in which Shrek

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

How long-lasting parental conflict in a marriage can influence Essay

How long-lasting parental conflict in a marriage can influence children while growing up in the home - Essay Example How long-lasting parental conflict in a marriage can influence children while growing up in the home? Child development is a hypothetical growth which depends on parents' sensitive behabiours that necessitates for the growing up of the child. Child development with a concentration upon psychological development seems to deny maturational, i.e., physical, psychological, motor, and neurological. In this research paper argued that child development and psychological processes in children are likely to be highly affected by the long-lasting parental conflict in a marriage. Various levels of analysis (e.g., economic, political, institutional, educational) of the effects of the long-lasting parental conflict in a marriage on adults and children in families. The specific gap addressed in this paper is to further the conceptualization of the psychological, sociological, and familial processes in children that may be affected by the long-lasting parental conflict in a marriage in families. A related goal is to place these conceptualizations in terms of a broader framework for understanding th e complexity of the processes underlying the impact of the conflict. Many parents assume that as long as their voices are children are not raised, their children will remain unaware of the conflict at hand. The general idea known as "child development" originated a generation ago as an interdisciplinary movement, no as a discipline in itself. ... Over the past several decades, a growing body of research has focused on the conflict in the family and how those conflicts affect children. Henry W. Maier, decided that any theory to be included in his book Three Theories of Child Development had to deal with personality development as a continuous and sequential process, starting with child's status as an infant and dealing with each subsequent stage of psychological growth: early childhood, childhood, and adolescence. Much of the more work has been devoted to parent behaviour as the antecedent and to child behabiour as the consequent. While we are nothing the impact of the paternal attitude on the child it well for us to consider the view of the child has of his parents several studies indicate that children have definite ideas about their relationships with their parents. Freudian theory has it that the relationship of the child to his parent of the opposite sex is critical in the development of his personality. Evidently, too, t he strength of the mother or father plays an important part. The study will examine the differential effects of the parents on the child's development. Mother-father relationships have an almost direct bearing on the child. (Hoffman, & Lippitt, 1960). 3. The long-lasting marital conflict's Psychological Hypothesis As the study illustrates, the long-lasting marital conflict can affect children's development. At first, mother entered into the infant's with equal influence, as the mother's temporary substitute or as some one with some nurturing purpose- or as a deterrent to his nurture. As the infant gains trust in his parents, his environment and his way of life, he starts to discover that

Monday, August 26, 2019

Company risk management analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Company risk management analysis - Assignment Example A year later in 1988 Vodafone was listed on the stock exchange. After three years in 1991, Vodafone separated from Racal Electronics and since that time, it was quoted as Vodafone in the stock exchange. In 1999, Vodafone merged with AirTouch Communication producing one company known as Vodafone Airtouch plc. The dawn of the twenty-first century saw greater developments for Vodafone Plc as it introduced Vodafone Live! in 2002 and went on to commercially launch its 3G services in Europe. A year later in 2005 the company launched a fixed mobile convergence product in Germany called Zuhause and acquired controlling interests on Hutchison Essar Limited in India. Since 2007, the company has been involved in a number of acquisitions and partnerships in Europe, Asia and Africa. Currently, Vodafone holds a market leadership position as the largest mobile carrier in terms of subscriber base. Vodafone’s Business Model Business models are very important for the existence of every business enterprise (Casadesus-Masanell, Ramon, and Ricart 2011). Models give a business a sense of direction and purpose (Chesbrough 2010) and basically define what the business is all about, what it seeks to achieve and the steps it will take to achieve the outcomes (Osterwalder and Pigneur 2010). The business model of Vodafone Plc is quite simple; it consists of five steps with the shareholder in between. The first element in the model consists of Assets; these include networks, supplier relationships, distribution, people, and brand (Vodafone 2013). Vodafone aims to have a great mobile network in all of the markets in which it operates. This mainly involves providing their customers with far-reaching coverage, reliable mobile connections, and increasing speeds and data capacity. Figure 1: Vodafone’s Business Model (Source: Vodafone 2013) Vodafone plc indicates in its annual report (2013) that it combines ongoing high level of network investment with a commitment to securing the b est possible portfolio of the spectrum. The next asset for Vodafone is people; the company has a highly skilled, motivated and diverse workforce. Vodafone expects its employees to be key in advocating for its products and services. Distribution is the other asset owned by Vodafone; the company reaches its customers through the over 15 thousand stores it owns as well as through a broad network of exclusive distribution partners and third-party retailers. According to Vodafone (2013), the Internet is becoming an increasingly important channel for distribution. The fourth item is the brand; Vodafone is ranked as one of the first most valuable telecoms brands in the world being worth over US$27 billion. This brand strength is one of the major drivers of purchasing decisions for consumers and enterprise customers. The final asset listed by Vodafone is its supplier relationships, the company has a large-scale global reach and is a key strategic partner with a large number of suppliers wit h whom it works together to develop innovative services and offer many new innovations. The next element in Vodafone’s business model is it its customers. According to Vodafone (2013), the company boasts over 404 million customers globally making it one of the biggest mobile operators in the world. The ranges of its customer

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Mass Media's effect on children's behavior Essay

Mass Media's effect on children's behavior - Essay Example 7). Infants begin to interact with their family. The family sets the child's perception of a social environment; an environment which can later be altered when the child's exposure to mass media begins, or when the child starts going to school. As children develop intelligence, most likely, they tend to imitate the elders. Andrew Meltzoff discovers that as early as 9-month-old, an infant "can imitate very simple acts (for example, button-pressing to activate a noise-making toy) twenty-four hours after observing them" (qtd. in Shaffer 251; ch. 7). Similarly, a child exposed to various forms of mass media imitates whatever is there to see or hear. Mass media takes on different forms: newspaper, magazine, radio, movies, television, and the latest and fast-growing electronic media - the World Wide Web. Newspaper and radio are among the earliest forms of communication media; however, television is one of the most popular today. Almost every household in the world owns a television set. In 2004, a study by Frank N. ... Ecological systems model and mass media A number of theories on human development and the environmental influences have been published. Many of which cited that mass media have a certain effect on a child at a particular point of development. Shaffer states that Urie Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems model of human development is "perhaps the most detailed analysis of environmental influences that has appeared to date" (59; ch. 2). Fig. 1. Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems model of human development; rpt. in "Overview of Child Development" (32) Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems model of human development consists of microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem. His innermost environmental structure, or microsystem, consists of the immediate contexts that a child actually experience (qtd. in Shaffer 59). It is the surroundings where the infant is first exposed to; this involves the family, playmates in the neighborhood, and later expands to peers at the day care. Mesosystem refers to the "interrelationships among microsystems" (Shaffer 60; ch. 2). The strong emotional foundation that the family instilled will prepare the child with future relationship with the teachers and other children. Exosystem, on the other hand, consists of "settings that children never experience directly but may still affect their development" (Shaffer 60; ch. 2). This involves the parents' view towards their work. If the parents are no longer happy with their job and they let their offspring see it, the child's emotional growth might be affected. The macrosystem is a "broad, overarching ideology that dictates how children should be treated, what they should be taught, and the

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Netflix Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Netflix - Essay Example Bargaining Power of the Buyers The movie rental industry is highly dependent on the buyers similar to that of other industry. Buyers purchase DVD’s or access internet to watch movies of their preferred choices. Contextually, they need to pay for the movies that they desire to watch and in turn, they seek utmost quality for the same. Additionally, having several players offering similar product, buyers are enabled with number of choices to choose from. This raises buyers’ bargaining power (Thompson, n.d.). Bargaining Power of the Suppliers In this industry sector, suppliers have the authority to choose a single dealer through whom they can enhance their bargaining power. However, in order to maximize profit and market share, suppliers are inclined to sell their products to every company, thereby limiting their bargaining power to medium (Thompson, n.d.). Rivalry The cost of entering into this kind of industry is quite reasonable owing to which the competition among the c ompanies are quite high. A few of the competitors in this particular industry l include Blockbuster, internet movies and TV content providers among the prime ones (Thompson, n.d.). Threat of Substitute Products In general, there are no such threats of substitute for this kind of product owing to the reason that movies and TV programs have similar content irrespective of whoever is presented to the viewers. However, piracy and illegal file sharing can be a threat for the products (Thompson, n.d.). Threat of New Entrants Owing to low entry cost, more and more competitors can enter into this kind of business. However, certain big players like Blockbuster and Netflix seems to dominate this industry (Thompson, n.d.). Q. 2. What Forces Is Driving Change In The Movie Rental Industry And Is The Combined Impacts Of These Driving Forces Likely To Be Favorable Or Unfavorable In Term Of Their Effects On Competitive Intensity And Future Industry Profitability? The movie rental industry is driven by certain crucial forces such as advancement of technology, convenience of buyers and cost factors among others. With the advent of technologies like internet, watching movies has become more online than watching in TV through acquiring a hard copy of CD’s or DVD’s. Furthermore, technologies such as smartphone and computer enhance the viewing experiences of the people as they watch movies anytime and anywhere. In addition, it has also been viewed that people feel more convenient and comfortable in watching movies in internet through live streaming rather than buying a CD or DVD of the same from any video library. This not only saves their time but also minimizes cost. These forces are likely to be unfavorable for companies as they would need to shift their focus from renting DVDs or CDs to providing services online. However, this aspect might be profitable for them in the future in terms of attracting huge figure of customers (Thompson, n.d.). Q.3. What Key Factors W ill Determine A Company’s Success in the Industry in the Next 3-5 Years? In order to gain success in this particular industry, companies will require moving in parallel with the changing trends, demands and needs of the customers. Companies in the coming years will need to enhance their market coverage through widespread advertising to gain success in this particular industry. Moreover, they should also need to adopt and execute proper strategies in order to ensure maximum ease of the customers.

Friday, August 23, 2019

The History of Cotton Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The History of Cotton - Literature review Example The plant has a leafy green shrub that has pink flowers that become the fruit or cotton balls. The cotton plant has deep roots, which go deep into the soil about 1.5 and is drought resistant but requires constant adequate moisture supply to produce healthy balls (Williams, Bolton & Moneyhon, 2013). Cotton is the most commonly used fiber in the manufacture of products regularly used such as the jeans pants, T-shirts, towels and shirts (Riello, 2013). The fiber from the cotton wool is transformed into yarn and fabric while seeds broken to oil and animal feeds and mulching purposes. The unprocessed form of the fiber is known as the lint. The lint exists within the fruit of the cotton plant or the ball and within each ball are around 30 seeds of cotton with numerous lint fibers connected to each seed. The fiber is protected within the ball until it ripens and breaks up. The word cotton originated from an Arabic word quantum or kutum referring to soft textiles. It is one of the oldest fibers ever. The archeologists discovered the cotton fabric 5000 years old at Mohenjo-Daro an ancient Indus River valley of West Pakistan and the same Egypt and Mexico. Cotton grew wildly in East Africa but first cultivation in Pakistan where it was used for the clothing purposes and binding on sandals and harnesses for elephants (Parker & Parker, 2012). Cotton has its origin from many countries globally, for instance, India where the fine quality cotton fabric originated making India the leading producer and exporter of cotton materials since 1500 BC until the end of the 15th century AD. The other countries, which started the cotton production after India, were China, Japan, and the Middle East. In America, Christopher Columbus began growing cotton in the early 17th century. However, the southern American colonies began producing cotton and manufacturing coarse clothing for their use. Â  

Microsoft Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Microsoft - Term Paper Example What is the company’s overall mode of doing business? Microsoft’s overall mode of doing business revolves around its strategies and diversification. Established back in 1975, the company has made significant progress in the area of information technology. Their aim was to facilitate people and organizations in doing business globally with an integrated computer technology (Farhoomand). They have altered the way people use to communicate, entertain and work by developing a list of market software, hardware and service devices. These were based upon enhancing the convenience level and revealing an entirely new area of opportunities. Their mode of doing business is incorporated with the development of significant revenues, sustenance of services and products, trade of hardware devices and advertisement of portfolio to a wide range of customers (Farhoomand). Their fundamental product range includes operating systems particularly designed for contemporary computers, phones, servers and the devices with enhanced artificial intelligence. Additionally they have server and productivity applications, solution generating business applications, facilities for online marketing and video games (Farhoomand). All of these products and service features are available to their customers around the globe with an addition of hardware devices such as Surface RT, Kinect especially for Xbox 360 etc. Furthermore, Microsoft provides an experience of online browsing and communication through its products including Bing, MS office, Skype etc. (Rivkin). In order to increase the work experience of their clients they are continuously working for the further development of hardware, software and services consistent with the latest technology. They extensively believe in the empowerment of individuals and businesses through providing them value and opportunities to grow (Farhoomand). Following Income Statement of Microsoft Corporation represents the financial position of the comp any in the year 2012-2013 (Earnings Release FY14 Q1: Financial Statement). How are they positioned competitively in the markets they serve and what are their fundamental strengths and weaknesses that play into their positioning? Positioning Microsoft is competitively positioned in the consumer and business markets through the incorporation of software and hardware devices and an extensive range of applications for business solutions and entertainment (Farhoomand). In a broader perspective their business positioning can be categorized into following segments (Farhoomand). Platform Services and Products: This segment is particularly positioned to provide the online services to the global customers such as internet browsing, communication, networking etc. Business Segment: Microsoft has greatly enhanced the overall nature of businesses internationally through providing its renowned office applications. However, in order to remain competitive Microsoft did not chose to cater the needs o f large multinational organizations which were already benefitting from Oracle and Sap rather it positioned itself to the small enterprises. Entertainment Segment: Microsoft entered into the gaming market in 2001. This initiation was intended to position the company’s products and services to the entertainment industry. Strengths and Weaknesses Microsoft’s major strengths include its provision of advanced services provided to the global customers while continuously evaluating and improving its management plans. Although the drastic change in political environment and increase in terrorist activities have brought greater challenges for the company but Microsoft was able to manage its business operations and product positioning through research and

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Visualize Poetry Essay Example for Free

Visualize Poetry Essay Through the ages of poetry, many poets have been making images with the expressions that they use to become leaders in creating the art of language. Several authors of the poems that we study daily use personification to make animals and objects do things that people do everyday to give the poem a twist. Poets also use imagery to give their readers a good portrait of what they are trying to describe. â€Å"Southbound on the Freeway† by May Swenson and â€Å"Once by the Ocean† by Robert Frost include these two terms. These poems, â€Å"Southbound on the Freeway† and â€Å"Once by the Ocean† are similar to each other in certain poetic descriptions, but they also have some that are unlike. One way these two poems are similar to each other is where the author uses many choices of poetic terms to get his audience’s attention. First, personification is found abundantly throughout each poem. For example, Swenson’s poem uses the personification like â€Å"Their feet are round and roll† (7) and â€Å"They have four eyes. The two in the back are red† (11, 12). As well in the Frost’s poem includes personification such as â€Å"The clouds were low and hairy in the skies† (5) and â€Å"Like locks blown forward in the gleam of eyes† (6). Those descriptions are very interesting and grab the reader’s attention. In addition to personification in these poems, there is imagery in â€Å"Southbound on the Freeway† and â€Å"Once by the Pacific† also. Swenson uses imagery such as â€Å"They have four eyes. The two in the back are red† (11, 12) and â€Å"Sometimes you can see a five-eyed one with a red eye turning on the top of his head† (13). Frost also uses imagery like â€Å"Great waves looked over others coming in† (2). As you see these poems are both similar by both using figurative language. Next, a second similarity in these poems is how they chose to write these with patterns. First, alliteration is a key term they used in writing these poems. In â€Å"Southbound on the Freeway†, Swenson use alliteration such as â€Å"Those soft shapes, shadowy inside the hard bodies† (23). In â€Å"Once by the Pacific†, Frost uses it in â€Å"The shore was lucky being backed by cliff, the cliff in being backed by continent† (8, 9). Secondly, assonance is another pattern similarity between these great poems. In â€Å"Southbound on the Freeway†, Swenson uses assonance in the following line â€Å"Sometimes you can see a five-eyed one, with a red eye turning† (13). In â€Å"Once by the Pacific†, Frost uses assonance in the following â€Å"Great waves over others coming in† (2). As you see in both of these poems, the epic poets used a great amount of sound patterns. While these poems both have many similarities, they also have a couple of differences hidden beneath them. First, the rhyme scheme is unlike each other. In Swenson’s poem, there is not any rhyme scheme included, but in Frost’s poem, the rhyme scheme is very noticeable and catchy. These are the first three rhymes. â€Å"The shattered water made a misty din. Great waves looked over others coming in, and thought of doing something to the shore That water never did to land before. The clouds were low and hairy in the skies, Like locks blown forward in the gleam of eyes† (1-6). The second difference is how the speaker’s tone is different. In â€Å"Southbound on the Freeway†, the author’s tone is slow and somewhat careless. In â€Å"Once by the Pacific†, Swenson’s tone is intense and fierce that keeps that readers attention. This shows how Swenson’s poem keeps the author’s attention longer. In these ways, â€Å"Southbound on the Freeway† and â€Å"Once by the Ocean† are very diverse. In conclusion, these poems, â€Å"Southbound on the Freeway† and â€Å"Once by the Ocean† are similar to each other in certain poetic descriptions, but they still have some terms that are unlike. After studying these two poems, it is far easier to find the poetic terms. In the future, readers of these poems should be ready for finding multiple poetic terms and differences of â€Å"Southbound on the Freeway† and â€Å"Once by the Ocean†.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Moral And Ethical Role Of Government Philosophy Essay

Moral And Ethical Role Of Government Philosophy Essay Ethics and morality form a central position in the functioning of the government. Under normal circumstances, it is the role of the government to ensure a just society where order and harmony exist. As a result the government has to establish and enforce ethical and moral standards so as to ensure that the society functions well. Decision making is the governments chief role. Therefore it must make ethical and moral considerations in order to make decisions that are in line with the welfare of the society. Ethics and morality are used interchangeably. The two terms are related in several ways. Nonetheless, there is an inconsequential dissimilarity linking the two. Most commonly is the fact that morality goes deeper than ethics in defining human behavior and conduct. Ethics refer to the standards that make the society a better place of all while morality provide for more deeper considerations that amount to religion and spirituality. In order for the government to ensure that ethical standards are adhered to, ethics and aspects of morality are entrenched into the law. This makes it conveniently possible to enforce ethical standards and ensure that all people conform to the law. However, certain aspects of ethics and morality cannot be made legal. This will make the society more complicated since certain morality aspects and ethics are perceptive. This brings into perspective the facet of belief and religion which formulates different people to hold diverse views on the concept of ethics and morality. The upshot is that, the government plays a significant role in enforcing ethics and morality. As a result it is expected that the leaders ensure that the society is just and orderly for all. The aim of this paper is to critically examine the role of the government in morality an ethics. To succeed in this endeavor, the paper will discuss different aspects of morality and ethics. Role of Government One of the central purposes of the government is to enforce the law. The law represents the will of the people who have their own cultural and ethical perceptions of reality. As a result the government enforces the ethical and moral values of the people it governs. In other words it can be rightly said that the government serves to accomplish the peoples perceptions of reality as represented in their ethical and moral values. This makes the role of the government more complex not forgetting that not all values of ethical and moral consideration can be enforced by the government. However, the government remains the prime custodian of peoples values. Ethics and moral values have a great influence on the operation of the society. It is therefore true that the government exercises control over the society. This is true in light of the task of enforcing laws. In order to get a better understanding of the role of the government as far as ethics and morality is concerned; more focus should be on the law (Preston Bishop 2000). The law is the governments instrument of power. To perform its functions, the government relies majorly on the law. On the other hand the law is perceived as being representative of the ethical, cultural and moral values of the people. Therefore as much as the law might not be the perfect tool of enforcing ethical and moral values, it remains the governments chief weapon against unprincipled practices and immorality. The law describes what is right and acceptable in society and therefore provides a blue print towards an ethical and just society. In order to affirm their quest for a just society, citizens are expected to adhere to the provisions of the law. Therefore, the law binds the society together bringing harmony among different people. Failure to conform to the law is perceived as breaking ethical standards established and is thus punishable. Therefore, the law is perceived as the peoples will to be enforced by the government. There are a lot of challenges the government faces in its ethical and moral roles. First and foremost are the different perceptions of ethics and morality. This is coupled by the practical reality that the law does not fully represent ethical and moral standards. Perceptions are a great threat to the governments role. This is due to the fact that certain parameters which are legal are sometimes perceived as violating ethical and moral standards. A good example is the issue of abortion. As much as abortion might be legalized, it still remains a debatable ethical issue. This is due to the fact that it is seen by some members in society as unethical. Other issues include divorce and promiscuity. These conflicts underline the fact that the law is not a sufficient tool of enforcing ethical and moral values. It underscores the failure of the government to ensure a just society through enforcing the law. Ethical and Social Obligations Ethics and a society are inseparable, due to the fact that ethical standards are the adhesive of a healthy society. Therefore there can never be a society without standards that define behavior and conduct. A just society can only exist in line with a set of values that represent the ethical and moral values of the people. A society on the other hand is governed by a group of leaders through the institution of government (Kizza, 2010). Therefore, it is obvious that it is the role of the government to ensure that the society is just and orderly. This is what is referred to as social obligations of the government. In essence the government is a tool of the society. It is established by the society to govern it and enforce laws that are deemed to represent the wishes, values and convictions of the people. The governments social obligations are nothing but the functions of ensuring that ethical and moral standards are adhered to accordingly. This involves the task of ensuring that the laws set represent the ethical and moral values of the people. Conversely, the government needs to go beyond the institutional role of enforcing laws to more welfare operations. This is line with the fact that the law in itself is inefficient as far as ensuring the enforcement of ethical and moral obligations is concerned. Decision Making A critical look at the origin of government points at the true essence of the institution. Several theories outline the origin of politics or government. Nevertheless, the contract of social theory is much relevance to the governments decision making role. Under the social contract theory, members of the society came together and surrendered their freedoms in exchange for order. In order to achieve this objective, the people established a government which was to govern the state on their behalf. Among the principal roles given of this institution was that of making decisions on behalf of the people (Cremer 2009). Therefore the governments most significant role is that of decision making. The role of making a decision is supposed to be in line with the interests and values of the society. This underscores the big role played by the government in ensuring a just society for all. Therefore in making a decision the government plays an important part in enforcing ethical and moral standards. Apart from enforcing the law which is perceived as the will of the people, the government has the authority to make decision that affect the functioning of the society. Therefore in making these decisions the government ought to put ethical and moral obligations in prime focus. In this role the aspect of public trust emanates. The government has been given the public trust which must be reflected in every decision it makes. Therefore public officials must make decisions that not only promote ethics and morality but also represent the same. In making decisions the government needs to be guided by two principal aspects. First and foremost is respect of the law. The law is the supreme guarantor of morality, ethics and justice. Therefore due importance should be granted to the law in the process of making decisions. Decisions that are contrary to the provisions of the law should be discouraged. The law should be the common denominator of all government decisions. This will protect the people from leaders with evil intentions. Another critical aspect of consideration is that of ethical consideration beyond the law. This should be interpreted in a positive manner to mean that the law should be upheld in high esteem but should not be the end of ethics. Certain aspects of morality and ethics are not entrenched in the law but should be upheld in decision making. This regards appointments and other aspects of governance. This calls for integrity on the part of state officials in the discharge of their duties. Need For Appropriate Actions Leadership is a delicate affair which involves a lot of aspects. Since leadership involves the tasks of vision, direction and governance a lot of care must be made to ensure that ethical and moral; standards do not take a back seat. The government is bestowed with a daunting task of ensuring order and justice in the society. This is to be achieved through the enforcement of laws that represent the ethical and moral values of the society. This is also done through the making of legal and ethical decisions. The government therefore plays a primary role in the whole concept of ethics and morality. Through its actions, decisions and operations the government has a lot of impact on the functioning of the society. There is need for appropriate actions on the part of the government so as not to undermine ethics and morality (Kiel Lennick, 2007). Since the success of a society depends on the manner in which ethical standards are adhered to, the government officials ought to be careful in th eir actions so as to promote a just and orderly society. It is against this background that governments need to put several measures in place so as to ensure that the aspect of ethics and morality plays an important role in its functions. This will result in a justly moral and ethical society which is what will make life better for the people. As far as the governments role in achieving justice and order in society is concerned, a number of considerations are necessary. Caution must be exercised in the process discharging the functions of the government. State officers ought to conduct their activities in manner that does not undermine ethical and moral values. To start with, it will be necessary to vet people before appointment to such positions. This will ensure that all those who get these positions are people of integrity. This will go a long way in ensuring that the role of the government in guaranteeing ethics and justice is not undermined by the quality of personnel in its ranks. Suggestions The ethical and moral role of the government is instrumental in ensuring justice and order in the society. Therefore it is upon the officials in the government to ensure that their actions and activities go in line which fostering harmony among the people. This will be achieved if all the laws are enforced in line with the peoples ethical and moral values as envisaged in the law. On top of these, the decision making arm of the government must be fully used to enhance ethical and moral values in the society. It will be against the purpose of ethics should state officials make illegal and unethical decisions. Apart from that state officials must be men and women of integrity so as not to compromise the values of the society. In order to succeed in this endeavor it will be appropriate for the government to classify its moral obligations into two. These are institutional duties and the social responsibilities. The former refers to the use of laws and structures of governance to enforce total adherence to moral and ethical values. This will call for the enactment of laws that represent the ethical and moral values of the people (Fisher 2003). Through the law, the government will ensure that there is justice and order in the society. Those who break the law should be liable for punishment. These will dissuade offenders and make society orderly and harmonious. Social responsibilities refer to those roles that affirm ethical values in the cultural set up. Through this arm, the government will set up and fund several organizations and commissions to cultivate tolerance, orderliness and ethics among the society. This will call for equity and equality so that all sections of the society feels taken care of. On to p of this is the decision making role f the government. The government should use its authority to make decisions in promoting justice, order and ethics. Conclusion The government is the chief custodian of morality and ethical values in the society. It is the role of the government to ensure that moral and ethical standards are maintained in the society so as to assure order and justice. The political system gives government the sole responsibility of ensuring stability, harmony and conformity in the society. It is along this line that the government plays an immense role in guaranteeing ethical and moral values. This role can be performed in many ways. Most commonly the enforcement focuses on the enactment of laws that represent the cultural and ethical values of the people. These laws are enforced so as to ensure conformity. Those who break the law are liable to punishment in accordance to the law. Through exercising the provisions of the law, the government achieves its objective of creating a just and orderly society. However, since ethics and morality are relative terms, not all aspects of ethics and morality can be entrenched into the law. This poses a challenge to the governments role of fulfilling ethical obligations. Therefore, it vital for the government to come up with other means of achieving justice and orderliness through ethics. Through its social obligations the government enforces ethical and moral standards in the society. This can be through its decision making arm and also through the establishment and funding of agencies and organizations that cultivate a culture of ethical values. The government also guarantees ethical values by granting freedom to the people to exercise their spiritual and religious convictions. Moral and ethical as pects have spiritual and cultural connotations, therefore through equality and freedom the government ensures justice in the society. The government plays a central role in ensuring ethics and morality in the society.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Analysis of Safeguarding Measures

Analysis of Safeguarding Measures CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND OF STUDY Machines are very dangerous to workers and are commonplace in many industries. The safety, health and welfare of workers are of utmost importance, especially where machine and moving parts of machines are involved. The employers have a legal duty to take reasonable care of the safety of the workers at while they are at work. One important way to protect workers from machines and the hazards associated is by using machine safeguarding methods. Broadly speaking, machine safeguarding has been defined by (Banner Engineering Corp., n.d) as being the requirements, methods and equipment which are used to protect workers while they are operating or when they come into contact with dangerous machines. Even if machine safeguarding is the key component for maintaining the safety of workers from machines, many facilities have fallen behind due to failure in upgrading and maintaining safety systems (Balbaa, n.d). This happens when the employers are of opinion that their systems are up-to-date and sufficient, while they are actually not. Other reasons might be due to a lack of liquid capital to invest in the systems. In addition, the fear that embarking on a project of upgrading systems might affect work and productivity, prevent them from improving. Whatever be the reason, standards concerning machine safeguarding, and the legal duty of the employer provided in the law to ensure the safety of employees as is reasonably practicable cannot be ignored. In this era of heightened standards, there exist many innovative ways in which machine safeguarding methods can be updated without affecting productivity. Safety standards usually come under the heading of regional, national and international standards and the application of one standard or a combination of standards depends on the goals of the employer and the size of the plant (Banner Engineering Corp., n.d). It has been provided by ILO (n.d) that more than 60 million of workers are employed in the textile, clothing and footwe ar TCF sectors worldwide, the TCF being one of the most globalised sectors. The textile industry is one where machines are involved at almost every stage of production and their safeguarding is necessary for the protection of workers. As stated by Max (2015), machines are used to execute functions at the different stages of production, which include yarn spinning, knitting, weaving, dyeing and sewing. Other machines are also used for special fabric effects, for instance embossing, bleaching, as well as mercerizing. Every machine that is used, its part, function or process that can cause harm to the worker should be safeguarded. Each machine can have different ways of being safeguarded depending on its construction and function. In Mauritius, the government recognizes workers as the most valuable assets and is concerned about their health and safety, being their fundamental rights. A national Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) policy has been therefore formulated in 2001 to encompa ss all the occupational safety and health issues of workers in all sectors of work (ILO, 2001). The policy is also periodically reviewed so as to respond according to alterations in work processes, machinery, new technologies, and new techniques of work. PROBLEM STATEMENT Improper machine safeguarding is a major problem that is prevalent worldwide as opined by (Soranno, 2012), considering reliable data and professional experiences. Employees are more and more vulnerable to injuries due to improper machine safeguarding. These injuries can range from a minor pain to severe injuries. Amputations are the most common, severe and crippling injuries that occur due to either improper machine safeguarding or violations of the guards. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has shown that during the year 2009 nearly 6000 occupational amputations occurred in the U.S. due to these reasons (Allen, 2011). Very often, employees do not understand the importance of the safeguards and the dangers lurking in the machine itself and they bypass the safeguards, failing to realize that the latter are meant for their own safety and that it takes only a second for an injury to occur. Soranno (2012) is also of opinion that there are five machine guarding problems, the first one being a lack of understanding on the requirements of machine guarding because people limit their evaluation of the requirements of machine guarding to only OSHA standards and do not consider the numerous other standards that exist. Secondly, the guards are improperly designed or installed due to lack of understanding and lack knowledge of the designers and installers who might be inexperienced. Next, there is a failure to consider all the risks. An adequate risk assessment is very important to consider the requirements about design and performance of the safeguarding devices. In addition, there are very often inadequate controls for proper adjustment, inspection and maintenance of the well-designed guards for them to perform effectively. Finally, the employers believe that the manufacturer is responsible for machine guarding, while it is their own responsibility. In Mauritius, however, there are very few sections in the Occupational Safety and Health Act 2005 concerning machine safeguardin g as compared to the numerous standards that exist for other countries globally. Therefore there is more risk to occupational accidents due to machines. As far as the OSH policy of 2001 is concerned, its application is dependent upon the availability of financial, human and technical resources. AIM AND OBJECTIVES The aim of this study is to find out how the workers in the textile industry perceive the use of the different methods of machine safeguarding that they deal with in their work. It is important to know the workers’ perception to know how comfortable they are with the safeguarding methods and whether the methods of safeguarding are accepted by them. The objectives set to achieve the aim are as follows: To analyse the machines that the workers are exposed to and the safeguarding methods that are present. Determine whether the safeguarding methods that exist are appropriate and without hazards. Find out the opinion of the workers towards the safeguards that are used, whether these safeguards affect the workers and their work. To recommend solutions to the problems of the workers concerning improper machine safeguarding. RESEARCH QUESTIONS To meet the research objectives the study will be centered on the following research questions: What are the methods of safeguarding that are used along with the machines in the textile industry? Are the safeguarding methods suitable for their purpose? Are the workers agreeable to the use of the machine safeguards? Do the machine safeguards affect the workers comfort and work? Do the workers violate/bypass the safeguards? What are the possible recommendations that can be formulated with regards to the problems that arise due to improper machine safeguarding? HYPOTHESIS Is machine safeguarding important for the security of the workers at the workplace? What is the relationship between inadequate machine safeguarding and occurrence of accidents? Does machine safeguarding affect workers’ comfort and work? FLOW OF THE REMAINING REPORT CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This chapter is an overview of machine safeguarding in general from a global perspective to a local perspective in the first section of background of study and then there is the problem statement, the aim of this study and the list of objective to achieve the aim, a list of research questions together with the hypothesis. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW The literature review will give an account of the studies that have been done on machine safeguarding, its importance, the different methods that exist, machine safeguarding in the textile industry and the various other ideas on this topic. CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY The methodology chapter describes the different methods and instruments that were used for collection of data, it also contains a description of the targeted population, the tools and statistical techniques used for analysis of the data, how reliable and valid was the study and the limitations of the study. CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DATA ANALYSIS In this chapter the data obtained from the previous chapter are analysed and results are drawn out and briefly described. CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION This chapter is about discussing the results obtained, in such a way so as to relate the findings to the literature review critically. This is where it is confirmed whether the objectives of the study were met or not. CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS It is a summary of the study, a number of recommendations are provided to the problems identified in the study and for future researches.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Using ‘Ode on Melancholy’ and one other, examine how Keats uses languag

Using ‘Ode on Melancholy’ and one other, examine how Keats uses language to explore his muses Keats In ‘Ode on Melancholy’ Keats accepts the truth he sees: joy and pain are inseparable and to experience joy fully we must experience sadness or melancholy fully. The first stanza urges us not to try and escape pain; stanza two tells us what to do instead - embrace the transient beauty and joy of the nature and human experience, which contain pain and death. Stanza three makes clear that in order to experience joy we must experience the sorrow that beauty dies and joy evaporates. The more intensely we feel happiness, the more subject we are to melancholy. The poet's passionate outcry not to reject melancholy is presented negatively – â€Å"no,† â€Å"not,† â€Å"neither,† â€Å"nor.† The degree of pain that melancholy may cause is implied by the ways to avoid it, for example â€Å"go to Lethe† and â€Å"suffer thy pale forehead to be kissed by nightshade†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The first two words, â€Å"No, no,† are both accented, emphasising them; their forcefulness expresses convincingly the speaker’s passionate state. In the first stanza, the language used presents â€Å"the wakeful anguish of the soul†. Keats speaks of â€Å"yew-berries† which are generally associated with mourning; the mood of the stanza is joyless which mirrors the subject it speaks of. However, Keats describes the â€Å"anguish† as â€Å"wakeful† because the sufferer still feels and so still has the capacity to feel happiness. The language used in ‘Ode on Melancholy’ is highly appropriate – the clouds are â€Å"weeping†. Much of the effectiveness of this poem derives from the concrete imagery. Throughout the poem, Keats yokes elements, which are ordinarily regarded as incompatible or as opposites. These ... ...e him unable to hear it anymore and therefore feel anguish. In the end of ‘Ode on Melancholy’, we see the reward of the â€Å"wakeful anguish of the soul†. The possessor of the wakeful soul â€Å"shall taste the sadness of her might†. The change of tense from present pleasure to future melancholy expresses their relationship – one is part of and inevitably follows the other. Keats concludes that the wakeful soul will be the â€Å"trophy† gained from melancholy. However, the trophies are described as â€Å"cloudy,† which has negative overtones keeping the muse of the poem constant throughout. Keats explores his muses using language of both happiness and despondency. Each of these feelings characterise the poems and therefore the use of imagery is relevant. The language used enables Keats to convey his emotions and experiences to the point where the reader can feel them too.